When is the sound of a bike to much??

[Norwegian Blue]

Personally, I don't mind an exhaust change that changes the tone of the bike -- i.e. a throatier, growlier sound can be a nice change -- but I really object to ones that make them significantly louder. Harleys with straight pipes (for example) are simply anti-social. And the phrase "loud pipes save lives" is, to me, nothing more than a feeble justification for antisocial behavior.

[evilted]

Heh.  Do you have a fanfare and wear a utility belt?  

(that was too good to pass up)

I try to park facing out because I know how much hurry I'm in going in, and I have no idea how much of a hurry I'll be in coming out.

KeS

[volleykinginnc]

When I can no longer hear my dry clutch  ....loud clutches save lives.

[marc11]

I used to love the "screw you and your desire for quiet" loud pipes on all my bikes since I was a kid.  It was agreat way for me to tell the world to look at how cool I was as I screamed by at near red line all the time.  On my Ducati it was like a right of passage to have the loudest badass pipes I could get.

Then I grew up.....and moved to the country.  One day, sitting in my backyard enjoying the sounds of nature and having a civil conversation with my son we had to pause as bike after bike passed by with uber loud pipes are RPM's not seriously needed given the speed and road type.

Then I began to focus on it, sometimes being able to hear bikes coming several minutes before they arrived and several minutes after they passed, pissing me off as I had to pause the TV, stop talking or ask people on the phone to hold on.  That was my "ah ha" moment.  If this pissed me off, and I am a motorcyclist, then just how many people do I piss off when I rip by on any one of my bikes?

From that moment on I decided to lead by example.  My Duc was sold (for other reasons) and my Versys has a stock pipe.  I replaced the Big Gun pipe on my KLX and went back to stock as well.

Sure I lose a bit of power, but you adjust and get over it.  The weight issue is a non-issue on the street and my HID headlight, horn and general wits about me keeps my out of more trouble from other cargers than my "loud pipes" ever did saving my life.

This is just one mans opinion.  I can understand and respect others desire to have loud pipes, but the bottom line is the end is coming, people are getting sick and tired of loud pipes and the crack down is just around the corner.  If we do not do something ourselves, something will be done for us.

[chornbe]

I have had the misfortune of having my ears assaulted by an uncorked I4 (the angry bee) at high revs as it passed me by, I to find that offensive.  

I think I will just stick to the stock exhaust, I may not be the most polite person in the world but I try not to be offensive.

There's someone that lives near my house with a built V-twin custom Harley with straight pipes. In my house, with the AC on, windows closed, and TV on, I still can not hear my TV when he comes by... and it's a good solid 75 feet from my back door to the road.

That's just flat out inconsiderate.

Most loud pipes, I-4 or Twin are just stupid "look at me" bullshit pecker wagging. Even a slow bike these days is faster than they need to be. Unless you're building a track bike there's no reason for aftermarket loud-ass pipes on the street.

We're all going to be regulated out of existence with everyone exercising their "rights" to vehemently. $.02

[leveredge]

It wouldn't bother me if these vehicles didn't make any noise at all.
I was following a small car through town last week with one of those can mufflers. I4 just about buzz my teeth out. Reving it out all the time. WTF does he think he's going in bumper to bumper traffic? Fool.
We have a bit of a straight on the state road by our house. You could probably get my bike well past 100 mph on that straight road. The question is why? It doesn't go anywhere but to a stop light and a 30 mph zone. You go through that speed change at even 70 while the cop is there. 11 points  for the speed +5 for being reckless + another 3 for the loud on the license in NY. Think a LEO would be there on 4th July weekend? They could have made a killing this past weekend.
All weekend while on our deck in the back yard some screaming I4 triple digit fools winding it out down that straight. Again. I don't know WTF they are going in such a hurry? Morgue probably. Hey. They think they sound cool.
Not just the "kids" either. A "old" guy (my age LOL.) in our development with an old Charger with a loud V8. Thing is it sounds like hell until he gets it running correctly. Nice car but it runs like crap. Stalls about 4 or 5 times in the morning when he is making his way out. I think he is the same guy with the loud American made V-twin motorcycle that runs like crap.
I'm starting to sound like my old man!

[UFO]

I must be getting old, because even sportbikes with full racing systems are getting annoying to me.  Straight piped Harleys get an automatic "windows up" if I see them coming in the cage.

I may change my stance once I hear the new 1200 V4 with aftermarket exhaust.

[cjgauthier]

Being a frugal person (ie cheap bastard ); I never understand why; other than the "look at me" syndrome; people even buy aftermarket exhausts.
I figure a new motorcycle costs $10,000. The stock exhaust is about $600 or more. And unlike stock exhausts of old; they give almost as much horsepower as after market exhausts.
Although aftermarket exhausts may be a little lighter giving a wee bit better handling. It comes at the price of not lasting as long as stock.
I paid for that stock exhaust; so I'm going to use it until it rusts through.

           +1  I'm a numbers guy who has to spread a limited amount of moola among my sporting toys. To wit, spending additional un-necessary sums on a rapidly depreciating asset only hurts my cash flow. A muffler comes with the purchase, when it doesn't I'll buy one.

[bomber]

Regardless of engine type, the volume is too much when it offends someone else.

I like a healthy sounding engine, but my likes are not everyone's cuppa tea, and I realize that.

My good time stops dead in it's track at the end of someone else's nose.

And visa versa, I believe.

[Tyrroneous]

Yosh pipe of some sort.  Bike was tuned by previous owner to run with the pipe so even if I track down an inexpensive, quieter option, I may be opening up a can of worms there anyhow.  I get the gut feeling, by end of the season, it will be on the market to the next beginning rider.  I only keep it know as an extra for the step-daughter to ride when she is in town, but supporting a stable of loaner bikes is getting old too,...

Have you looked into re-packing it?  Could be that the packing is just old and worn out.  Re-pack it with new material and it will still be louder than stock but quieter than a pipe with old blown out packing.  

[Rusty the Scoob]

I wouldn't mind a little extra V-twin growl out of my SV650, but can't be bothered to spend the $3-500 it would cost.  Plus I don't really want a lot of extra noise.  

"Loud Pipes Save Lives" is complete BS in my opinion...  it's very hard to accurately identify the location of a really loud noise on the road, especially in the split second in which it might matter.  You can tell there's a bike near, and that's about it.

[243Win]

Have you looked into re-packing it?  Could be that the packing is just old and worn out.  Re-pack it with new material and it will still be louder than stock but quieter than a pipe with old blown out packing.  

I tried getting it apart once to peak inside it without success and other projects have higher priorities at the current moment, but that is good advise.  Says right on the side of it "NOT FOR ROAD USE".  Similar looking pipes on the miniceptor has no such wording on them and are far quieter.  Since the miniceptor is up in the air as I finish replacing a worn cam-chain tensioner, I tried pulling one of the pipes off of it to put on the bandit, but same story, get all the screws out, wail on it with a rubber mallet for a while, put screws back in, go do something productive.

[Jeremy Z]

I'm with you, Andrew. If it wakes me up at night, it is too loud.

I think there's room for a little extra volume before it gets to that point. Some of the milder aftermarket exhausts for Valkyries and Ducatis sound just beautiful to me; not too loud, but loud enough to be appreciated.  The stock Triumphs, Nortons, and BSAs of the 60s were about right.

We also have to keep in mind that a lot of these guys are near deaf. They ride without helmets, without earplugs, and in large packs of loud bikes. In order for them to hear their bikes at all, they have to be pretty loud.

Just like the guy in the other thread who had the H-D couple laugh at him for wearing hi-viz, I just remember that karma will get the bitches. At best, they'll lose their hearing by the time they reach middle age.

At worst, they will die in what many of us would consider a minor accident because of their choice to not wear a helmet.

Someone made a comment that loud pipes cause our rights to be regulated away. I'm sad to say, it doesn't seem to be happening near me. The A-holes with the loud Harleys are not at all bothered by the cops, even though they're breaking the law as sure as I am by speeding.  

[luvtoride]

My thoughts on this??? Loud pipes save lives??? Nooooo... LOUD PIPES GET PASSED!
Pisses a friend off to high heaven when I say this. Hahahaha...

[Wide Track]

Two members of my family (not me) have Harley's, as does one of my neighbors, they have enough sense to retain either stock exhaust or slightly modified, not loud

I kind of enjoy the nice mellow tone of a modified American V8, and I can also say I hate the Japanese 4 bangers with a straight exhaust. I also dislike one of the neighbors kids that rides a dirt bike that has a straight exhaust. This kid is too young to get a license, so he is back and fourth, back and fourth past the house, once or twice I can deal with, all afternoon is the pits.  

I believe some of this has to do with age and at my age loud obnoxious exhaust from any vehicle takes away from the  quality of life.

[tigertom1965]

I was passed on a Harley wannabee the other day. I didn't hear them coming until they went by then it was so loud I couldn't hear anything for two minutes afterwards. Loud pipes yes, but they did no good until after they went by. By then I could see them anyway. Whats the use.

At the dealer a couple of weeks ago I was in the shop and a technician started a bike there for inspection. Talk about loud pipes. It was not a Harley it was a metric cruiser with straight pipes. I made the comment about how they were louder than the law allowed and the technician said as long as it had baffles they passed it. It wasn't their job to hand out tickets or some such. Their real problem is that they wouldn't get his repeat business and he would just go home and put his baffles in and come back, then after he left he would take them out again but he wouldn't come back again.

I would have failed his inspection and made him pay for another. What is the use of inspections if they pass bikes that should fail? Or I would have called the cops and told them to wait just off the premises with the gear to find out how loud the pipes really were and to tow his bike until he changed the pipes. Just to piss him off.

On the other hand my stock R1200RT pipes are too quiet. It would be nice to have some character but not at the expense of annoying the crap out of myself. Right now it sounds like a propeller aircraft motor.

[Bravo12]

When is the sound of a bike to much??

When it's someone else's loud-ass pipes.

[Jeremy Z]

Two members of my family (not me) have Harley's, as does one of my neighbors, they have enough sense to retain either stock exhaust or slightly modified, not loud

I kind of enjoy the nice mellow tone of a modified American V8, and I can also say I hate the Japanese 4 bangers with a straight exhaust.

OT: I'll admit that I like the sound of stock Harley pipes. Just like pushrod V8s. The vehicles are not my cup of tea, but that mechanical music is nice.

[Bravo12]

Yeah, I like the sound of most large-displacement V-twins, too, but have you ever had to ride next to one on the highway?  It gets old after about 30 seconds.  I don't hear them on the back roads because they are way behind me.

[RangerG]

I have no problem with a bike that has some growl to it.  Bikes with straight pipes should have those pipes placed far up inside their owners ass.  I am getting old, but even more annoying than a straight piped Harley is a snowmobile with an aftermarket exhaust.  I'd rather be subjected to fingernails on a chalk board than that!